However effective the pre-voting day voter information campaigns, access to voter information at the voting station itself will be a necessity. Voter information provided at voting locations should be geared to assisting voters in understanding the voting procedures and also to promoting effective accessibility to and crowd control within the voting station.
This section looks at information at voting locations
General Information
To ensure easy accessibility and visibility of voting stations the following methods are useful:
Outside the voting station:
• using prominent signage -Voter accessibility and passage through the voting station is enhanced if prominent signage is used.
• start outside the voting station itself, with the use of a prominent sign identifying the voting station location.
• directional signs to the voting station in the surrounding area or streets will assist accessibility.
• posters or signs advising that a location is going to be used as a voting station can be placed at the location a few days before voting day. This would also apply to institutions being covered by mobile voting facilities, where posters advertising the day and time of visits by mobile voting stations should be placed at relevant points within the institutions a few days before the scheduled visits.
Inside the voting station:
• within the voting station, prominent signage and directional arrow signs can be effectively used for crowd control, identifying any areas with specific functions, such as entrances, exits, ballot issue area, voter information points, special voting facilities areas, queuing points, and restrooms. While provision of this signage is at additional costs, it can greatly enhance the effectiveness of voter traffic flow and reduce the general inquiry load on polling officials.
• display simple posters reinforcing required conduct such as voting secrecy, smoking or no-smoking areas, prohibitions on political campaigning within the voting station area, littering prohibition
In developing materials design, production and supply plans, the types and quantities of voting station general signage required need to be considered.
Information on Rights and Procedures
Displaying printed information on voting rights and procedures reduces the time spent by staff on dealing with voter information needs. Formats could be:
• a pamphlet or booklet giving full information, available at an information point by the voting station entrance;
• wall posters prominently displayed around the voting station.
Posters are effective as they may be less expensive and tend to be less disruptive to voter flow, as they provide constant information to all voters in the voting station. Using simple bold realistic illustrations of the actions required from a voter, rather than textual explanations, will ensure wider and faster comprehension will be achieved.
Complex voting procedures or where multiple language groups have to be accommodated in the one voting station, may require that you provide back up the basic information on posters with a more comprehensive booklet.
There are a number of specific subjects that these information materials could cover to assist in voter service, including:
• maps of the electoral area covered by the voting station, and information on other voting locations or facilities placed at the entrance to the voting station;
•posters advising voters to have their identification documents ready for inspection and showing the identification documents required to be produced;
• information on the rights of voters to vote and any challenge mechanisms;
• information on how to correctly mark a ballot and place it in the ballot box, or use the voting computer or machine correctly;
• information on facilities for physically impaired voters or other voters needing assistance or special facilities;
• information on contesting candidates or parties.
Where election systems of representation are complex (e.g., where voters must mark a number of preferences in a specified fashion on the ballot, or where simultaneous elections using different voting method are being held, and especially where they are being used for the first time) material explaining the representation system may also be useful information within the voting station.
Role of Voting Operations Officials
Information on display needs to be backed up by trained officials capable of answering voter queries. Apart from those voters who may need assistance in understanding the common voting procedures, there are many voter information issues that can only be handled personally, such as redirections to the correct voting station and eligibility for special methods of voting.
The role of voting operations officials as service providers should be considered most important.
They are the public face of the election machine. Their ability to provide information and their attitude towards voters in need of assistance are a large factor in determining public perceptions of the professionalism of electoral management.
Whether staff should be specifically allocated to information assistance roles will depend on factors such as the size of the voter turnout expected and the general levels of understanding of the voting system by voters.
Senior polling officials may be able to cope with information duties in addition to their management roles where voting stations are catering to small numbers of voters and the voting system is stable and well known.
Preferably employ additional officials with a specific voter information in situations where:
• there are larger numbers of voting stations,
• any environment where new voting procedures have been introduced,
• there are large numbers of new participants in voting processes,
• or more complex computer or machine-based voting methods are used,
There duties would include redirection of any voters who have arrived to vote at a voting station at which they are not eligible to vote.
To ensure the sufficient provision of staff in situations indicated above it is necessary to provide for their inclusion in the planning for recruitment programs and in developing training packages. Staff in voter information roles will need a broader understanding of voting processes than staff engaged in more routine functions, and their training will need to be commensurate with this.
